Saturday, November 26, 2016

I am so, so excited to share the new curtains I have for in my kitchen! I found these red ticking curtains on ebay for a great price! They were really long and wide. My sister took the measurements I gave her and made me a new curtain for under my sink (plus an extra one in case that one gets ruined or needs washed etc.) and a new valance for above my sink! (Yes, I have dishes in the sink that I am washing. It was Thanksgiving dishes and I just wanted to take pictures to share...so it's real life, my friends!)

I love ticking and just love how these turned out! I am also *so* thrilled that there was enough leftover for a whole other curtain! I got them at a *great* price too, which is such a blessing (as fabric can definitely be pricey!)

And, although I took my camera to Thanksgiving celebrations...I had it off to the side and didn't even get it out. My cousin took a photo of us with her phone and sent it to me....so I can share this...

So that is me and my cousin Mariah :)

I gotta get going! I have cleaning to do here and then this evening is my niece, Audra's, 2nd birthday party! I can hardly believe she is TWO! She's a spit-fire and we just love her to pieces! We're looking forward to celebrating her life with everyone!

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Since we moved our living room into the addition we built onto our house ~ we had the *old* living room empty! It became my "office" (also known as the computer room or library!) It doesn't really have an official name.

I still have yet to redo the walls...it's a project for *some*day.... it's just a big project to undertake (as the plaster walls need a lot of TLC before painting can take place)...and I'm not ready to put that on my TO DO list yet! :)

The room has a perfect space for the boys to play Legos. So often, you will find legos decorating the floor in here! (I always just ask that it be in a semi-state of clean...and that no Legos are on the floor around my desk! Those hurt to step on!)...

My simple elliptical (that I got at an auction for only $5) is in this room as well!

A little look from a distance...

It's snowing here today. I hope it doesn't stick around long. I can definitely wait until December (or even January) for snow! :) The funny thing is that we had temps in the 60's the other day! Such a drastic change from one day to the next!

The week ahead is a busy one for us...as I am sure it is for each of you! I hope it is blessed. I hope this Thanksgiving is full of more than just traditions and food. I hope you take the time (and every day) to praise God for the blessings He has put in your life...as well as have a constant attitude of gratitude to the One Who gives us so much (although we deserve nothing)! I'm so glad you visited me here today! Thank you for the comments you share as well as the emails you send! I enjoy it so much! Have a wonderful week friends!

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

~2 Timothy 4:3-4

How sad it is to admit that that time is here....and has been for a long time. A time where "Christian" bloggers are saying that homosexual marriage and behavior is okay and even blessed by God! A time where "Christians" support abortion and a woman's *choice* to murder her child in the womb (or support the politicians that endorse it). These fruits come from a much deeper source. A place in the soul where root sins have reared their ugly heads. It's pride, selfishness and unbelief that leads to these wicked fruits. From those root sins, we find the fruit sins apparent in our lives (wisdom gleaned from the Behold Your God study). We must take this into serious account...and truly realize who it is we serve. Is it the God of the Bible or a god of our own making?

If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness,he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions,and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.

The Bible isn't all about our *rights*....it's not about what God owes us or what we want. It's about HIM. It's all about Him. It's all for His glory.

Does aborting a child bring glory to Him? It is murder of a human being He created in His image. It is absolute blasphemy to think God is okay with that!

Marriage was made to show the relationship of Christ with His bride (the church). The woman is *suppose* to be the weaker vessel. We don't have to "man-up" and be equal with men. (Yes, in worth we are most certainly equal...but our roles are most certainly meant to be different!) God did not make men to lie with men or women with women. Our bodies were made to compliment each other. Men are to be the leaders and women the helpers. This is just as Christ is our Head and we are his people. Anyone who says different is *not* lining up with sound doctrine and should be avoided!

However....these two fruit sins I show above come from the root sins of pride and selfishness. People want their own way and they will twist scripture to get it. The Jen Hatmakers of the world will tell people what they want to hear so she stays popular with the world (if you are a follower of Christ who listens to Hatmaker, Joyce Meyer, Christine Caine, Beth Moore, Rachel Held Evans and the like....you need to run (not walk) away from them. They are *not* leading you in Truth and are deceiving you. I have no "personal" beef with any of these women....however, when they are misleading people and claiming that they are teaching the Word of God correctly.....all while reaping in loads of deceived people's money...I take complete offense to that. They are inaccurately teaching things about the God I love. I get so frustrated knowing so many people will blindly follow women such as these and be misled. Plus, you should be so rooted in God's Truth that you can *see* the errors they teach. It's about discernment. If you think I am off...please dig into the Scriptures and seek the Lord in prayer. The Lord will direct you if you are seeking with a pure heart!)

These are just two sins of multitudes...I am addressing these two specific sins as they are being touted as holy and okay with God at this time. People are trying to make evil good and good evil.We could also list the sins of hate, greed, covetousness, arrogance, fornication (sex outside of biblical marriage ~ not only adultery but so many today live together as if they are married....but aren't actually married!) and more!

So, I ask you...Who is it that you serve? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Or is it a god of only love and no justice? All love and tolerance?

“Beware of manufacturing a God of your own: a God who is all mercy, but not just; a God who is all love, but not holy; a God who as a heaven for every body, but a hell for none; a God who can allow good and bad to be side by side in time, but will make no distinction between good and broad in eternity. Such a God is an idol of your own, as truly an idol as any snake or crocodile in an Egyptian temple. The hands of your own fancy and sentimentality have made him. He is not the God of the Bible, and beside the God of the Bible there is no God at all.”

~ JC Ryle

True Christians love people. We love sinners. We understand that we, too, are great sinners and in need of a Great Savior. He has made us saints because of His perfection, His sacrifice, His death and resurrection. Not because of our own holiness or perfect living. Because He saved us....it is *then* we realize the gross sins we have committed against a most Holy God and we turn from them...and live a life that pleases Him. Because we love people...we want the best for them. The best is not living *in* the muck and mire of their wickedness but being made anew ~ leaving the chains of a sinful life behind!

I know many people struggle with same-sex attraction. It would be so difficult to fight that...but if you are His and He is yours....He will give you the strength to do it (not take the temptation away necessarily....but the strength to fight it). It is no different than my battle with gluttony. I want to eat too much (of good and bad foods). It is a struggle every. single. day. It is no different than the person who struggles with alcoholism. It's a battle. It's a fight to do the right thing. But if you truly love the Lord and desire to please Him....you keep fighting! You do the right thing because He is worth it. It's not about you....it's not about me. It's about Him. You know what is right and what is wrong. God has placed it inside of you.

“Be very sure of this,-people never reject the Bible because they cannot understand it. They understand it only too well; they understand that it condemns their own behavior; they understand that it witnesses against their own sins, and summons them to judgment.”

~ JC Ryle

The same thing with abortion....I don't even want to *hear* about the woman's right to choose. It's a woman's right to choose to kill a baby inside of her? How is it even possible for us to contemplate that possibility? Flat out...it is *never* okay to kill a baby in the womb. NEVER. You never have the right to murder.*BUT* ~ here is the beauty of our great God. There *is* forgiveness. If you or someone you know has aborted their child....you are not without hope! God is merciful and full of love. His mercies are new every day! There is forgiveness for each of us....when we turn to the living God, turn away from our sinful lifestyles and behaviors and trust in Christ alone!

Friends, we need to pray. We need to pray for people. We need to pray for revival. We need to pray for our own hearts. Pray that the root sins of selfishness, unbelief and pride are taken from us and that our fruit will show pure and holy lives led to the glory of God! We must have a right view of God to fully comprehend who we are....how terrible our sin is and our *great* need for salvation. Be in the scriptures daily....asking God to reveal Himself to you. Meditate on His attributes (all of them)! May our faith strengthen daily and may He be shown to be great through His people who love Him!

Some home happenings lately...

Early morning devotions and time in the Word with Winnie Cat...

A closer look at my notes...

Winnie left and Stella joined me for a while. You can see the daylight is starting to come up and lighten things up!

A new-to-me wreath from Goodwill...

A science experiment...

Planning...

Winnie-Cat taking a snooze...

I had to share what has been on my heart lately. I hope I have shared in a way that is pleasing to God and that He is magnified. It may not make the world happy to read it....but ~

...the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

~ John 3:19-20

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

~1 John 2:15-17

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you.If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

~John 15:18-19

So I do not fear the world. I abide in Christ and that is most important. I hope you have found encouragement, admonition, and conviction here. Ponder today Who it is you serve.

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

...with all its ups and downs, will soon be over. We all will give accounting to God of how we have lived."

~William Wilberforce

I have been reading a biography on William Wilberforce by John Piper. I finished it yesterday...it isn't a long read...but I must admit, I am now going to look for more books about Wilberforce! What a man of God! Such a great example he was! I love reading biographies and knowing how people lived...especially those who have lived to the glory of God. Hearing hardships and suffering they have gone through and yet, praising God through it all....it gives me such conviction to live my life for His glory!

I felt the above quote was quite suitable on this election day. I'll be completely honest...I wasn't even going to vote for a president. I am one of those *crazy* women who believe the men should vote...and husbands should be the ones speaking for their whole family. I don't get all worked up over the woman/equality thing. But since I have this duty...I felt I should vote some way.

So, this year...I struggled immensely. I don't like Trump and I don't like Hilary. I don't like Trump's behavior and I believe Hilary has broken the law, stands for abortion and same-sex marriage which I don't agree with. So, I felt the only right thing to do was to not vote for either of them....I mean, how can you put your support behind evil or evil? It's just wrong. Spurgeon says (I'm paraphrasing): When having to choose between the lesser of two evils...choose neither. I was going to go that way. I was going to stand firm on the fact that *neither* of them deserves my vote. However.....(and this is a BIG however)...one candidate stands on a platform that promotes the murder of babies in the womb as well as redefining what God has given to us as marriage. Those are *huge* issues to me. Although I don't *like* Trump ~ he does stand on a platform that is *against* abortion and defines marriage as between one man and one woman. After discussing it with my husband and going on his lead (which he feels the same as I do) I will be voting for the Republican platform (although not really *supporting* Trump). Whoever is elected will receive my honest prayers. I will pray for their salvation as well as their leading this country in a God-honoring way. And...no matter what happens, I rest completely in the arms of a Sovereign God...Who is the Beginning and the End. I don't fret. I will stand for what is right and for His truth always....and my soul is at peace...no matter the outcome of this election! :o)

A couple encouraging, truth-filled, quotes from Wilberforce...and then onto some photos of our recent happenings! :)

"I am disturbed when I see the majority of so-called Christians having such little understanding of the real nature of the faith they profess. Faith is a subject of such importance that we should not ignore it because of the distractions or the hectic pace of our lives."

"If you love someone who is ruining his or her life because of faulty thinking, and you don't do anything about it because you are afraid of what others might think, it would seem that rather than being loving, you are in fact being heartless."

~ William Wilberforce

Some serious Lego-play was happening here...

Warm candles burning as it is chilly outside...

Making applesauce...

A family friend came to visit over the weekend! It was her first time to ride a horse! She and the children had a good time riding Annie at my parents' house!

I love X's birthmark...it's hard to see in the picture but it is a heart shape!

Brushing Annie down...

Time to ride!

Madelyn...trying on mama's sunglasses...

X putting on the helmet to go ride on a back road...

Things have been busy around here...we had a full weekend (and I struggled with a headache Sunday). I taught spin early Monday morning then we had our homeschool co-op all day. We came home and I had housework to tend to and a sticker order to fill. Then, the girl that teaches spin class on Monday nights ran into a snag and asked if I could sub for her. I told her I would (although I was exhausted from a busy day...I always welcome another workout...plus like to be able to help people when they need me). So, needless to say, things have been zany! Today, I need to vote...the children are working on schooling and my sister and the girls are coming to town to celebrate my mom's birthday which is this week! So it's another busy day....*but* I am definitely not complaining! I am thankful for these days the Lord has given to us! Plus, the weather has been most agreeable and it is a joy to be out in it! :)

One last thing before I go! A lady at church who had no more need/want for her oil lamps knew that I loved them and asked if I would want them! I was thrilled! Here they are...

They are *much* prettier in person though, I must admit! The only negative is that they are filled with the smelly oil and not odorless! I will have to change them out at some point! Until then though, they are quite a lovely sight in my house! :)

Thank you for visiting here friends! I pray your day is blessed! I hope you are having a lovely week and will visit me again here soon! Happy Election Day! :)

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

For those of you who enjoy planners, organization and enjoy seeing how I set up my planner...here is another Plan With Me in my bullet journal! You can see my first Plan With Me HERE. I am terribly imperfect and completely *un*professional in it...as I'm just a simple wife and mama trying to stay organized in this crazy thing called life! :) If these aren't your thing...that's okay too! I am still posting blogs...it's just fun to do these from time to time. I don't know if I will continue videoing these or not...we'll see. But here is my most recent video if you are interested! Have a lovely rest of the week friends!

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He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young.~Isaiah 40:11

"The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest. "~ Thomas Moore

"Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality."~ Beatrix Potter

"The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only - and that is to support the ultimate career. "~ C.S. Lewis"The secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life, and in elevating them to art."~William Morris

"I have no faith in that woman who talks of grace and glory abroad, and uses no soap and water at home. Let the buttons be on the shirts, let the children's socks be mended, let the roast mutton be done to a turn, let the house be as neat as a new pin, and the home be as happy as home can be."